The Texas Senate passed a bill to prohibit college professors from forcing their students to take certain political positions. The legislation comes at a time of heightened tensions on college campuses across the country, which are often the scene of ideological clashes.
According to the bill’s sponsor, Republican Senator Bryan Hughes, the text does not seek to put an end to debate in universities, but rather to encourage critical thinking and freedom of expression. Hughes seeks to legislate against teachers seeking students’ adherence to certain political agendas.
Against wokeism and critical race theory
According to the language introduced in the Texas Senate, "A faculty member of an institution of higher education may not compel or attempt to compel a student enrolled in the institution to adopt the belief that any race, sex or ethnicity or social, political or religious belief is intrinsically superior to any other race, sex, ethnicity or creed."
This law could prevent the woke agenda from being promoted by university faculty. For years, academic movements such as critical race theory (CRT) have been the target of conservative policymakers. Under the Trump administration, several national laws were enacted to prevent the proliferation of these ideologies on campuses.
